Amazon distributor says Nintendo Wii U release Nov. 11, price $249

In nine days, we’ll know precisely when the Nintendo Wii U will be out, what games will be available, and just how expensive those games, the console, and its peculiar touch screen controller really are. Nintendo’s holding an event in New York City on Sept. 13 special just for that. Do you know what this means? We only have a little more than a week left for rabid, insane speculation and fanboy baiting! Oh no! We better start making baseless assumptions based on hearsay from the Internet or we’ll have to wait years for the next Nintendo console release!

The latest: Amazon.com says the Wii U will be out on November 11 and cost a cool $249.

Not Amazon directly that is, but Video Product Distributors, the company the provides Amazon and other electronics retailers in the US with their goods. VPD has three mysterious postings for Nintendo’s new machine, suggesting the Wii U will join the modern age with different models on shelves come day one.

The listings are:

WIIU SYSTEM—GM—11/11/12 $249.99

WIIU SYSTEM W/—GM—11/11/12 $299.99

WIIU SYSTEM 349 W/—GM—11/11/12 $349.99

A retailer on NeoGAF confirmed that VPD has had a listing for the Wii U for some time but this is the first time that different bundles at varying prices have popped up.

The following assumptions aren’t totally baseless, I admit. First, we can assume that the $250 Wii U bundle will be the basic package, like the original $250 Wii package that released in November 2006. This will include the console and one controller. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said as much at an investor Q&A session in June. He did now however commit to having a pack-in game like the Wii had with Wii Sports in the US. As that game’s inclusion was vital to the Wii’s success though—and since the Nintendo 3DS’ $250 launch without a full game fueled that machine’s initial failure—it’s safe to assume that NintendoLand will be a part of that $250 package.

What will be in the $300 and $350 packages then? Controllers. Nintendo’s home console business has been built around playing with others these past ten years. The $300 package will likely come with a Wii remote wand and nunchuck while the $350 package will come with a second tablet controller. That way, all Wii U SKUs offer a full experience with some real value adds in the more expensive packages.